Philemon 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord, Always. I’ll say it again, rejoice!
It’s not always easy to rejoice in the Lord. I mean, maybe you are a much better person than me, but I find it really hard to thank God for trouble when it comes to my doorstep. I KNOW in my head that rejoicing changes my attitude about things, but it’s so hard.
Here’s an example from my own life.
About 10 years ago, my husband and I were in a financial situation through no fault of our own that required us to short sell our townhome. The community we were in entered into a lawsuit with the developer and we were only able to accept a cash offer. It was right after the economy had crashed, our dues had gone up 80% and we were forced to walk away from the home we had brought our baby home to for the first time. It was hard to let go of that even though we felt like it was what God was asking us to do. It wasn’t at all what we expected for our lives when we first purchased the home.
Philemon 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord, Always. I’ll say it again, rejoice!
God led us to perfect rental opportunities. First, helping out family. Then finding something below market value. And finally, to a place that was in the neighborhood where we were hoping to one day buy a house again.
We loved the house and hoped we could convince our landlord to sell it to us one day and we chuckled and said, what if we prayed that everything in the house would need repairs while we were renting and then we could somehow buy it and everything would be like new.
So, we prayed, “God would you break everything?” Yes, that was our real, honest prayer. Ha!
- The first day we moved in the furnace broke. Not even kidding.
- Then the fridge was replaced.
- Then the washer and dryer.
- Then our landlord replaced the water heater since it was getting old.
When we were getting ready to sign our lease, we approached our landlord to see if he would be willing to sell, He said he felt God told him to help us and so he sold the house to us.
Philemon 4:4: Rejoice in the Lord, Always. I’ll say it again, rejoice!
The journey that we went on to arrive here in our forever home could not have happened if we had not been able to let go of our past place and walk an unexpected journey. If we hadn’t followed God even when we didn’t want to, we wouldn’t have been open to what he had for us, which was so much more than we had hoped.
It’s hard rejoicing in the unknown. It’s hard rejoicing when it’s not going how you thought. It’s hard rejoicing when you are moving your kids every year or two. It’s hard rejoicing when you feel unsettled.
No matter where you find yourself on your journey today, remember…
God is good. He is for you.
If nothing else, you can rejoice in that. Keep following him and he will lead you. The journey won’t necessarily be exactly what you hope, but it may be just what you need.
Even though I felt unsettled at each of our past rental places, this is one recipe I took with me no matter where we lived. This is a recipe we always love to make every fall and for sure for the holidays. We call it Puppy Chow though I think it can also be called Muddy Buddies! This is the perfect treat to have on hand while you chat about the things in your life you are rejoicing for today.
Puppy Chow
Ingredients:
- 9 cups Crispix Cereal (Note: I like Crispix better than Chex. It’s a little crunchier.
- 1 cup chocolate chips.
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Special note: If you don’t want leftover cereal, you can make 1 ½ batches as the box was about 13 total cups.
Step 1: Melt butter, chocolate chips and peanut butter together on stovetop. Keep the heat low so the chocolate doesn’t burn. Keep stirring occasionally.
Step 2: Pour your cereal into a bowl (with a lid!) while everything is melting.
Step 3: Once melted pour on cereal. It is helpful to have someone stirring while you pour.
Step 4: Sprinkle on powdered sugar. Again, helpful to have someone stir while you pour.
Step 5: Shake it all up. Make sure your lid is on tight. Trust me, you should check.
Step 6: Eat!
